The Challenge Factory discussion

Captain:
Skandia

Kelsi
Cathy
Melissa
Barbara ★

Helpful Links:
Dice Roll (2 dice on Fridays US Central Time)
Time Zone Converter
Post Your Spot
R3: Spreadsheet
Discussion Thread

The alternates:
Each number corresponds with the spot on the board.
For colors: The cover has to be at least 50%
For locations: As long as the book takes part at all in the given location .
For Shelves: Any book on the given shelf
For Publication Years: I'll be using how GR has it's publication date listed.
For Authors Names: The first, middle, or last name of the author is ok.
For Cover Items: Must have the given item on the cover
For Titles: Only the first word of the title. A, An, And, and The do not count.
So if the letter is B: The Best Day would be ok. Dear Betty would not be ok.

1. N/A
2. White
3. 2004
4. Adult
5. Title R
6. Cover Item tattoo
7. Author J
8. New York
9. Green
10. 2002
11. Cover Love
12. Title C
13. Cover Item Smoke
14. Author W
15. Italy
16. Silver/Gray
17. 2001
18. Book Boyfriends
19. Title N
20. Cover Item Mode of Transportation
21. Author I
22. Australia
23. Yellow
24. 2010
25. Reviewed
26. Title E
27. Cover Item 2 People
28. Author T
29. Nevada
30. Blue
31. 1999
32. 3 Star
33. Title H
34. Cover Item Moon
35. Author K
36. Louisiana
37. Pink
38. 2014
39. Got It
40. Title O
41. Cover Item Beach
42. Author E
43. Illinois
44. Red
45. 2012
46. On Kindle
47. Title B
48. Cover Item No People
49. Author L
50. Texas
51. Orange
52. 2008
53. Fun
54. Title S
55. Cover Item Building(s)
56. Author A
57. England
58. Black
59. 2013
60. 4 Stars
61. Title K
62. Cover Item Animal
63. Author S
64. Massachusetts
65. Purple
66. 2011
67. Signed
68. Title T
69. Cover Item One Person
70. Author D
71. France
72. Multi-colored (more than 3 colors)
73. 2009
74. Did Not Finish
75. Title F

(view spoiler)[76. Title S
77. Cover Item One Person
78. White
79. Silver/Gray
80. Title F
81. Louisiana
82. Did Not Finish
83. 2001
84. Cover Item 2 People
85. Author A
86. 2012
87. Title B (hide spoiler)]

Team : Awesome Fireballs
Roll 1: rolled 8 (2+6)
Space: 8 (#8 / New York)

Skandia - Rapture in Death by J.D.Robb (New York) 9/03/14 review
Kelsi - The Magicians by Lev Grossman (New York) 9/04/14 review
Cathy - Heart of Atlantis by Alyssa Day (#8) 9/05/14 review
Melissa - Body Check by Deirdre Martin (New York) 8/31/14 review

Hey guys! Looking forward to playing.

Any team name suggestions?

Hello everyone! This is my first time playing so bear with me, I will hopefully catch on quick :)

Our team name should be Happy Bookers or Books & Beyond.

Ooooh! I really like Books & Beyond :)

No problem Kelsi, this is really easy to catch on!

About names.Maybe we can go with something fun. I took a chance with random name generator and it came up with

Awesome Fireballs
Sneaky Legends
Thunder Panthers
Butterfly Dreamers
Miracle Workers
Groovy Girlz

I kind of like Awesome Fireballs :)

Is there someone who wants to be a captain?

I like Awesome Fireballs and Thunder Panthers :)

I am going to opt out of being captain because it's my first time playing and I am starting school in a few days. I think I will be too busy!

I think someone who has played before or is on goodreads a lot should be team captain. I'm opting out this time because I can't guarantee I'll be on for the times to roll etc. I like Books and Beyond and don't mind Awesome Fireballs....or we could make a really long one and go with Awesome Fireballs, Books, and Beyond (maybe because I work at bed, bath and beyond I like a triple name LOL)

Only a few more days till we start. Anyone want to be captain? Also anymore thoughts on team name?

I think we are still missing somebody...Cathy hasn't checked in. Does anybody know her? I'm pretty much ok with any of the suggested names. Unless one is really calling to somebody maybe we should just do eeny meeny miny moe? :p

skandia, since this is your second time playing would you like to be team captain?

I can take on captain duties if no one else will volunteer.

I just let you know that I might need help rolling a dice when we are not done with our reading before Friday midnight. ( But I hope we are :) )
Friday midnight on Central Time is 8 AM for me, because I'm on European time. So please, bear with me.

I'll try to contact Cathy by PM.

Edit: PM sent to Cathy. Let's hope she'll check in soon.

If I see you haven't rolled the dice by the time I am online I can roll it but I'm not usually on until 8 am pst.

So far more popular name suggestions -

Awesome Fireballs
Books & Beyond
Thunder Phanters

My vote goes to Awesome Fireballs.

FYI - I saw that another team where my friend is playing, is considering a name Books & Beyond also, so maybe we should take this into consideration ...

I like awesome fireballs too, I second the vote :)

I'm ok with awesome fireballs so if Cathy and meeem are ok with it lets go with that one.

I'm here. Sorry life got crazy. I'm fine with Awesome Fireballs.

Hi Cathy!
Now we have all team members checked in and looks like the majority is fine with Awesome Fireballs, I'll go and confirm our name so we are ready to start!

Hi Cathy :)

I have rolled 2 and 6 and now we are on spot 8.

Week 1 - Read a book #8 in series or read a book set in New York (For locations: As long as the book takes part at all in the given location )

I'll set up a tracking post soon.

I will be reading The Magicians which is set in New York.

I will be reading Rapture in Death by J.D.Robb, set in New York.

I'll be reading Body Check by Deirdre Martin- takes place in NY

I will read Heart of Atlantis - book 8 in the series.

I set up a tracking post - message #5. I will be linking our reviews there.

Meeem, have you chosen your book for this week yet?

Finished my book.

Body Check by Deirdre Martin
Takes place in NY
Rating: 2 stars
Finished 8/31

Normally I don't finish books this quickly but I had lots of time today to read. I enjoyed the interactions between Janna and Ty till Ty just kept being a jerk. I can be forgiving of ahole men but I just never fully warmed up to him. I also can't believe I am going to say this but I wish the heat level was turned up just a bit on this...I guess I'm becoming more and more fond of erotica. I liked the sports theme but am not a fan of hockey so it wasn't the best choice for me. In the end it was just ok. Good enough to keep reading but not good enough that I'm jumping to read the next.

Great job finishing your book, Melissa. I hope your next read will be better.
Stand alone or first in series coming up next (if I don't roll a 12) and at least the selection will be endless there.

I will start my book tomorrow and I know this will be a quick read for me so I'll be done with it by Thursday for sure.

How are the others doing? Meeeem?

Hope we hear from Meeem soon.

I am just finishing up a book for my other group challenge tonight so will be starting the one for this challenge either tonight or tomorrow :)

Sent a message to Meeem. I hope she's ok and will still participate and give her review on time.

I'm starting my book now :)

Melissa, could you please add finishing date to your review. Thanks.

Skandia done

If we don't hear from her by tomorrow I suggest we contact Jenne to see if we can get a temporary replacement till she comes back.

Melissa wrote: "Skandia done"

Great Melissa, thanks.
Haven't heard anything back from Meeem, yet. Yes, I'll contact Jenne before next roll if she doesn't check in with us.

I received a message from Meeem and she's leaving the team because she's too busy to keep up with the team challenge.
Jenne is looking for a replacement and until then we go on as a four member team and we won't lose our turn if all other books are read by Friday.

Week 1
Space 8, set in New York

Rapture in Death by J.D.Robb

Finished 09/03/14
3 stars

Another solid mystery in In Death series. Eve and Roarke are back from honeymoon and a series of weird suicides catches Eve's interest. She suspects there is a murderer behind these deaths. This time the crime takes her to virtual reality games world and deals with high tech mind control equipment.

Although the crime part in this novel was weaker and ended very abruptly, I really enjoy the general setting of this series. New York in 2058 is a very interesting futuristic city, a glimpse of future I would very much like to experience myself.

That sucks that we are losing Meeem, hopefully we get a replacement soon.

Jenne has posted a reminder in SS thread that in order to earn your free pass this week your team must have all of their reviews in by tomorrow.

Ok I will try my best!

What is the free pass

I will work on it.

Teams will have a chance to earn 1 Free Pass to roll. To earn your free pass your team has to complete their reads a day before the next roll. Once your team has done this you will have 1 free pass. The free pass will allow a team to roll if they are missing a review(s) before the cutoff. The free pass may not be used for the win. Once you've used it, you can't earn another one. It's a one time shot.

FYI I have a backup player on hand, she's out of town. I should know this coming week if she's still interested. If she's not then I'll hunt ya one down :)

The Magicians (set in New York)
Completed September 4, 2014
4 stars

Overall I really liked this book. I usually enjoy anything magic related so that was pretty much a given! lol I did however have a few qualms with this one though:

1) The humor in the first half of the book was way too corny and over the top, it just felt like it was trying way too hard to be funny. The book got darker after a while so this wasn't too much of an issue.

2) The pacing. Quentin goes through his first three years of magic school in the first 100 pages...there is no real transition between the years, it is pretty much just one sentence saying he is now in his next year. It just felt really rushed and it seemed a bit unnecessary. It only takes a paragraph or two to properly transition.

3) The inconsistencies. Without spoiling too much, Quentin ends up in the same year as a character who gives off a vibe of being much older, like at least 3 or 4 years above. That and a couple of other things just didn't fit for me.

That being said the descriptions of the world were absolutely beautiful. Other than Quentin being a bit angsty for my taste (especially early on), I also enjoyed the characters and the relationships. It was a worthwhile read all things considered and I will probably continue with the series.

Do we need a shelf for this challenge? Or do we just need to mark the book as completed?